Cyprus Mail: Press Review in English, 98-07-31

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From: The Cyprus Mail at <http://www.cynews.com/>

Friday, July 31, 1998

Public service in need of reform

THE NEED for reform of the public service, discussed at a meeting of President Clerides, the cabinet and senior civil servants, received extensive coverage.

Alithia said the meeting had concluded that the government machinery was plagued by problems that needed to be tackled because its operation did not live up to the expectations of either the government or the taxpayer.

The meeting, which looked at the operations, efficiency and cost of the public sector, discussed ways of modernising it so it could live up to the demands of the future. Clerides said that the public service had been on a "downward spiral since 1960" and that it was imperative to stop this trend.

Haravghi took a tongue in cheek approach to the story, saying that the government, which, after five and a half years in power, had not even been able to restrict the number of public servants - despite a moratorium on new appointments - was to solve the problem by waving a "magic wand".

According to official figures, the number of public servants had grown by 16 per cent since 1990. With its bad management and nepotistic appointments, the government had struck deadly blows at the efficiency and productivity of the service, the paper said.

Phileleftheros reported that there was a complete identity of views between the governments of Cyprus and Greece with regard to the handling of the missiles issue. Both insisted that the missiles would be deployed if certain conditions were not met.

The re-confirmation of this strategy was made after a meeting of the Greek government, about which Cyprus had also been briefed. The government spokesman in Athens repeated that the purchase of the missiles was a joint decision of Greece and Cyprus as part of the Unified Defence Dogma.

Simerini said that Clerides had made it clear to close associates that the missiles would definitely be in Cyprus by the end of September or the beginning of October.

During his visit to Moscow, Clerides had discussed the safe delivery, installation and operation of the missiles. The Russian government had undertaken, not only to deploy the missiles, but also to ensure their smooth and effective operation.

Machi, describing the awarding of damages by the European Court of Human Rights to Titina Loizidou as "a decision of historic importance", said that Cyprus had been vindicated.

The court had ruled that Turkey should compensate Loizidou to the tune of £300,000 for violating her right to use her property in Kyrenia. This landmark ruling paved the way for recourses against Turkey by all refugees who had been driven out of their homes in the north.

© Copyright Cyprus Mail 1998

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